We here at KT Literary are delighted to be celebrating three amazing book releases this week in the YA and MG age ranges, and to commemorate the occasion, we brought together all three authors for a round of Three Authors in Three Minutes! I’m thrilled to turn the blog over to Susan Adrian, author of NUTCRACKED (Random House Children’s Books), Stephanie Perkins, author of THERE’S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE (Dutton Children’s Books), and Margaret Rogerson, debut author of AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS (Margaret K. McElderry Books).
What is your favorite character interaction in your book?
Susan: I’m going to cheat blatantly (on the first question!) and list two. One is between the main character, Georgie, who’s 12, and a new friend-who-happens-to-be-a-boy, Noah, at a high school stadium while they’re killing time during football practice. It’s a friendship with just the underlying hint of a crush, and their conversation is so sweet and awkward, while they share an orange. It took me about 10 tries to get right. The other one is a heart-to-heart between Georgie and her mother, where Georgie is trying to get reassurance that everything will be okay without really telling her mom exactly what’s going on. Her mom nails it, I think.
Stephanie: My new novel is a slasher, and I heartily enjoyed the scenes where the killer stalked the victims. And I’m not sorry for giving such a creepy answer.
Margaret: My favorite interaction is without a doubt the scene with the teapot, which I can’t explain, because I don’t want to spoil anyone! But I think that scene really highlights the dynamic between Isobel and her love interest, Rook.
What is the nicest thing someone has said about your writing?
Susan: I don’t usually remember the nice things, but my current favorite is part of a review of NUTCRACKED: “It’s a wonderful, feel good story that pairs delightfully with a snuggly scarf and oversized sweater. It’s like this book was made to be read by the glow of colorful lights hanging from a Christmas tree.” I fist-pumped when I read that, because it’s exactly what I wanted to accomplish.
Stephanie: A reader once told me that they could tell I put a lot of time and thought into every sentence. I do. That compliment meant so much to me.
Margaret: A few readers have written to me saying that they loved An Enchantment of Ravens so much it made them cry, which means the world to me and always makes me cry as well.
What has been your funniest author moment?
Susan: Mine are all me being awkward, but it’s probably my massive fangirl moment at BEA with Susan Cooper. I was the first one in her signing line, holding her name on a card–and when I got up to her I pretty much lost all words. I think I choked out something about being an author too, and how I memorized parts of her books when I was a kid. She was very gracious, thankfully.
Stephanie: I could not possibly put it in writing, but ask again the next time you see me. It involves free socks and a radio interview that went horribly, horribly wrong.
Margaret: When I was in Manhattan meeting my agent (hi Sara!) and editor for lunch, I left early but ended up being almost a full hour late due to the world’s worst Uber ride. It was absolutely mortifying, but funny in retrospect. At least, I try to tell myself that, because I’m the kind of person who still full-body cringes over every embarrassing memory I’ve accumulated since childhood.
Speed round!
Favorite Place to Write:
Susan: At my desk, at 5:30 in the morning.
Stephanie: At home. I can’t write anywhere else.
Margaret: In bed!
Favorite Bookstore:
Susan: So many! Maybe Tattered Cover, in Denver. They were so wonderful to me when I did an event there with my first book.
Stephanie: My hometown indie, Malaprop’s in Asheville, NC.
Margaret: Joseph-Beth in Cincinnati
Favorite Kiss
Susan: “Is this a kissing book?” The Princess Bride
Stephanie: I’ll go for real life with this question and say the first kiss with my husband. It was spectacular, and we had a crowd.
Margaret: Definitely not my own first kiss, which I promptly described to my boyfriend as “sticky.”
And to make it even more interesting, we asked each author to pose a question to one other!
Susan’s Question for Stephanie: Since THERE’S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE is horror, what’s your current favorite horror movie?
Stephanie: I Saw the Devil, a South Korean serial killer revenge horror film from 2010, was the last one that felt like a masterpiece.
Stephanie’s Question for Margaret: If you could steal any idea from any modern YA fantasy novel and make it your own, what would it be?
Margaret: THE ANCIENTS from the Kingdom on Fire series by Jessica Cluess.
Margaret’s Question for Susan: NUTCRACKED has me wondering, do you have any favorite holiday or seasonal traditions?
Susan: Yes! Since I was in my first Nutcracker, I’ve been collecting them, and I put them all out together every year. This isn’t even all of them! I got a great Mouse King Nutcracker last year I think I’m going to bring on tour with me.
Thanks to Susan, Stephanie, and Margaret for joining us, and early congrats on their book releases tomorrow!!
